Changing Your Mind
by Ravenclaw4life
Summary: AU Starts during HalfBlood Prince. Slughorn makes the 6th years change potions partners. Ron gets paired with a Slytherin girl who he doesn't know. Chapters 1 through 3 up. Read and Review.
1. Honestly

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter...But I don't. I own Tracey's personality and history but I didn't come up with her. That was JK Rowling. I own the plot as well and any OCs but that's it. **

** CHAPTER 1**

**Honestly**

Cold as they were the castle dungeons were somehow comforting, although standing outside of Potions, waiting for Slughorn to arrive wasn't. The tension between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors was immense. Draco kept glaring sideways in the direction of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, something that made only one of the other Slytherins at least a little uncomfortable. She laughed it off however and stared down the hallway, ignoring Pansy's remarks to the other Slytherin girls.

Finally, Horace Slughorn could be seen walking down the hall a whole 10 minutes late. He was laughing jovially at something the class could only guess at. It wasn't like him to be this late. Most of the class scowled deeply.

"Some of us have better things to do than stand around waiting for professors to walk into their own classes late…" muttered Pansy underneath her breath as the Potions Master walked by, still laughing.

Amid whispers and laughter the class followed Slughorn and settled into their usual seats.

"Now, now, I must apologize for being so tardy," said Slughorn, although the fact that he was still laughing indicated that he probably wasn't really all that sorry.

He continued speaking as a hush fell over the classroom.

"I have just been speaking to the headmaster. He thinks it might be a good idea if I changed things up a bit. That is why I have decided that I'm going to be changing who you work with during your class time."

All of the students groaned, none more loudly than Ron and Harry.

"Come, now! This could be a chance to make some new friends. Inter-house unity and all that. That's why I'm going to be pairing each of you with someone from a different house."

This resulted in even louder groans from the students. The Gryffindors all thought that they might scream if they got one of the Slytherins in the class. Any of the Ravenclaws or even one of the few Hufflepuffs wouldn't be quite as bad.

"At least there are more Ravenclaws than anyone else," whispered Harry, hoping and praying that he got one of them.

This was very true. Out of the 20 people who had made it into N.E.W.T. level Potions half of them were Ravenclaws. It seemed that none of them had gotten below an E on their O.W.L.s. The rest of the class was comprised of various Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors.

Ignoring the silent protests and disbelieving looks from his students Professor Slughorn continued, pointing to various students from different houses and pairing them together. Without realizing it Slughorn paired at least 2 Ravenclaw students together, defeating the purpose of what he had set out to do. The Ravenclaws weren't complaining, though.

In the end Harry ended up with Padma Patil, Hermione with Mandy Brocklehurst, and Ron with a Slytherin girl named Tracey Davis. Ron recognized her as one of the students who had taken part in the Inquisitorial Squad the previous school year, when Umbridge had wreaked havoc at Hogwarts.

Ron looked around the room and couldn't help but notice that he was the only student not paired with a Ravenclaw. He scowled, none too pleased at the way things had turned out.

"Alright, instead of making a potion for today's class I would like for you to get to know your new partner. Then, for homework, I want you to write a short essay about him or her. Four inches should do it. Feel free to write more, if you'd like," Slughorn beamed as he said the words, thinking his idea a stroke of genius.

The room filled with low chatter, nearly every table engrossed in their task. It was, after all, an easy assignment. Ron, however, had yet to say a word to Tracey.

"Um…" she muttered, trying to start a conversation and failing miserably.

Ron didn't even look up, just sat there scowling in the direction of the blackboard.

Tracey tried again.

"Er…Ron? Shouldn't we…I don't know…start talking? Or something?"

Ron merely grunted and shrugged. He wasn't much in the mood be talking to a Slytherin, as well as stuck with her for the rest of the year.

"Okay…I'll start then. I'm Tracey Davis. I'm obviously in Slytherin and I would bet 10 galleons that that is part of the reason why you aren't saying much to me. I'd also bed another 10 galleons that the other reason you aren't talking is because I was part of the Inquisitorial Squad last year."

"You'd be right on both accounts…" muttered Ron, finally forming words as opposed to sounds.

"Thought so. Now will you bother to tell me at least something about yourself?"

"Name's Ron Weasley. Gryffindor. There you go."

Ron's reply sounded harsh, even if it was just a few words.

Tracey stared at the side of his head. He still wasn't looking in her direction. Fed up with his complete and utter disregard for the fact that this counted as an assignment Tracey got up from her seat and walked in front of their table, blocking Ron's view of the blackboard at which he had been staring so intently.

"Oi! Weasley!," she said." If you'd like to stop staring at the potions notes that _aren't _on that ruddy blackboard and, oh I don't know, look at me, we could both pass this assignment. But that's just a suggestion."

Ron, taken aback at this thoroughly un-slytherin behavior, finally looked at Tracey. When he did what he saw surprised him a bit.

Standing before him was a pretty girl, without the air of cold superiority that the Slytherins usually had. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back into two French braids which revealed dark red highlights in the underneath layers. At the moment her coffee brown eyes peered at Ron with a mixture of anger and frustration, though he thought they might actually look kind at any other time.

"Listen, I understand you're not too keen on being partnered with me but could we please make this work? I'd like to do well, as I'm sure you would as well," pleaded Tracey, the anger in her face disappearing.

"Fine. I'll try. But I doubt I'm going to like it," murmured Ron.

Tracey smiled slightly and sat down as she said, "You don't have to like it, although my house will probably expect me to tell them all sorts of nasty things about you."

As another scowl spread across Ron's face she quickly added, "I won't though."

This last bit made Ron grin, however briefly.

"You're not like other Slytherins, are you?" he said quietly.

"Nope…I'm one of the few who isn't bent on Pure-bloods being the only worthy wizards and witches. I can't be though, can I?"

"Why's that?" inquired Ron, a little bit confused. He was under the impression that all Slytherins currently attending Hogwarts thought Pure-bloods were superior.

"Well, I'm not a Pure-blood, am I? My mother's a witch. My father's a muggle, though.

Ron could only nod at this. He plucked up the nerve to ask Tracey a question.

"How'd you end up in Slytherin? I mean, you seem too…nice to be there."

"The hat couldn't decide. Said it saw too much of all of the houses to decide right off. Gryffindor was the first off the list, though. Not enough courage in me, apparently. Next went Hufflepuff. I'm a little bit too lazy for that. Eventually the sorting hat said that it was between Ravenclaw and Slytherin…"

"What finally settled it, then? You seem like you'd do better in Ravenclaw."

"My family history," Tracey said with a wry smile. "Slytherin's been in my family since Hogwarts opened. Generation after generation of Spungens have been in Slytherin. Actually, for a while there it looked like my grandfather might be the last one. 7 children and his six oldest were squibs. Only my mother turned out to be a witch. He disowned my aunts and uncles because he was ashamed of them. Grandfather tried to keep them hidden but Grandmother wouldn't let him. Eventually he died just before I started school."

Ron tried to absorb all of this information for his paper.

"Blimey. Uh…I suppose I should go into more about me, then. I'm one of 7 children, like your mum. I have 5 older brothers and my younger sister, Ginny. I'm sure you know all that though. Malfoy's always making fun of me for how many children my mum and dad have…I'm Pure-blood but the Slytherins…I mean Malfoy call my family blood traitors. My best friends are Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."

Tracey made a face that resulted in Ron stopping to say "What?"

"I don't like them much…no offense or anything. Hermione's a bit of a know-it-all, isn't she? Much more so than any of the Ravenclaws. They don't have to prove to anyone that they're smart by answering every question a professor asks, do they? My best friend's a Ravenclaw and she always manages to let someone else have a go at it. And I don't like how Harry manages to get everything without really trying to. It's like he doesn't have to work for anything…And now you see why I'm in Slytherin. Sorry," she said the last word rather sheepishly, realizing that she had insulted Ron by insulting his friends.

Ron shook his head slightly from side to side. "You're still not as bad as the rest of them."

Tracey couldn't help but smile widely at the sentence.

"I'll take that as a compliment, then."

Before Ron could respond the bell signaling the end of Potions class rang. Ron gathered up his books and quickly joined Harry and Hermione, who were waiting for him by the door. As he left he muttered a quick "See you around" to Tracey.

"So?" asked Harry.

"So, what?" a confused Ron asked. He clearly had no idea what Harry was talking about.

Before Harry could say what he meant Hermione answered for him.

"I think he means to ask you what your new potions partner was like."

"That's exactly what I meant to ask, although I could have said it myself, Hermione," Harry grumbled.

"She's nice," was Ron's matter-of-fact answer.

This was obviously not at all what Harry had expected. He had expected to hear that she was as horrible, worse than Pansy, that she thought that Ron was a blood-traitor, Hermione a mudblood. Ron's simple "She's nice" did not seem like something that would apply to a Slytherin.

"Nice? But she's a Slytherin. She was on the Inquisitorial Squad. She's friends with Draco Malfoy. I've seen them talking and laughing at the Slytherin table at meals."

Harry was really having trouble believing in the existence of a nice Slytherin.

"I think her best friend is dating Draco. Aurora Ketteridge, from Ravenclaw. I've seen Draco talking to them both, holding hands with Aurora. She's in my Arithmancy and Ancient Runes classes," explained Hermione.

"I don't see what her best friend's love life has to do with her being nice," said Ron not seeing how this was relevant at all.

"Oh, well, nothing really. I just…never mind," Hermione said, turning slightly pink.

"Come on, guys. Let's just go to dinner and forget I asked what she was like, okay?" said Harry, sensing Ron glaring at both of them.

"Fine," muttered Ron as he walked up the steps into the entrance hall a little bit behind Harry and Hermione.

He didn't know why he was being defensive of a girl he barely knew. A girl who happened to be a Slytherin, a member of the house that Ron had despised since their first day at Hogwarts. Something Tracey had said made sense to him. Hermione really did seem like a know-it-all. That was one of the reasons he hadn't liked her during their first year. And Harry really did get things handed to him. He hadn't had to try out for the quidditch team, he had just been handed a chance to partake in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he didn't have so many talented, funny older brothers to overshadow him. Jealously surged inside Ron stronger than he had felt in a long time. And yet he still felt like Tracey had understood his friends better than he did, somehow.


	2. The One I'm Waiting For

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter...But I don't. I own Tracey's personality and history but I didn't come up with her. That was JK Rowling. I own the plot as well and any OCs but that's it. **

** Chapter 2**

**The One I'm Waiting For**

"You, Mr. Whibley, are extremely lucky to have such a talented potions partner," Professor Slughorn said quietly to Ron at the start of their next Potions class. He had once again gotten Ron's name wrong.

"Ms. Davis here is second to none in this class, even Ms. Granger. In the 2 months that I have been teaching here I have yet to see Tracey fail to make a potion perfectly."

Professor Slughorn was beaming. Tracey was blushing. Ron just looked back and forth from Slughorn to Tracey. He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the differences in their expressions. For some reason he found it extremely funny. Finally Slughorn left to write the day's potion ingredients and instructions on the board.

"You look like I do when I say something stupid. Are you sure you're not really a Weasley?" Ron said, trying not to laugh once more.

"Shut up," Tracey muttered as her face returned to its normal color. "I don't ask for that and yet Slughorn always manages to bring it up every chance he gets. Somehow all he can talk about his how I'm a star student, once of the best he's ever had, right up there with Lily Evans-Potter and Professor Snape. He thinks I'm brilliant and I'm not."

"Then what are you, if not really good at Potions?"

"I never said I wasn't good. I just don't think I'm as talented as he makes me out to be. Potions is just easy for me. It's like cooking. I love it, not that mum ever lets me cook. She thinks I should leave it to our house-elf, Miffy."

"I haven't seen how well you make potions yet but I'm sure you're as brilliant as Slughorn says. He's got a good eye for that stuff, it seems."

"Thanks."

The pair smiled at each other before turning to the pickled sea slugs they were supposed to be smashing. They didn't speak again until they had finished putting all of their ingredients in their cauldrons and both potions were simmering softly over the fire.

"Are we friends now?" asked Ron in an innocent voice that had just the slightest hint of hope. It was so faint that not even he detected it.

Tracey thought for a moment before responding calmly.

"I guess we are."

Their potions started to boil simultaneously before turning a deep blood red, signaling that they had reached the appropriate temperature. Slughorn saw this and congratulated them on being the first to finish.

"Well done, both of you! Perfect. Absolutely perfect potion. Since both of you are done and we don't test the potions until our next class you are both free to go back to your dormitories. But before you go, please take these phials and fill them with some of your potion."

Tracey and Ron did as they were told, gathered their books, and left the dungeon classroom. The eyes of the rest of the class followed them out the door, jealous of the opportunity to leave early. Over at her table Aurora signaled for Tracey to wait for her outside on the grounds.

"You're Keeper for the Gryffindor quidditch team, aren't you, Ron?" inquired Tracey, making conversation as they walked down various hallways towards the stairs.

"Yeah. Are you interested in quidditch at all? Support any teams?"

"First and foremost I support the Slytherin team. I have to. I'm on it now, aren't I? But my favorite professional team is the Cannons."

Ron's face lit up. Finally there was a girl, besides his sister, who he could talk to about quidditch. And not just quidditch. He could talk to her about the Cannons, his favorite team.

"You're on the Slytherin team? What position do you play? I thought they picked based on size. I've never known them to have a girl on the team."

"I'm a Beater. And things change. Actually, Slughorn made the entire team try out again, just to make sure that they were actually good enough. Half of the players on the team were replaced in the end. Lucky for me, though. It gives me a chance to beat your team."

Tracey laughed and Ron joined in.

"I'd like to see you try. We've got a very solid team, you know. 10 galleons says we beat you in the first match of the season. Wait…I haven't got 10 galleons have I? Damn."

"You're on," remarked Tracey.

"I'm what?"

"On. You're on. If Gryffindor wins I give you 10 galleons. If Slytherin wins you have to…let me tutor you in Potions."

Ron contemplated this for a few moments before saying, "But then don't I win out either way?"

"I guess you could see it like that. In that case you shouldn't complain about it, though. I've heard you muttering at the back of the classroom to Harry and Hermione how much you hate it and how bad you think you are at it. I just thought that maybe I could help. I like teaching. And like I told you, I'm decent at potions."

"Fine. I accept. We have a week until the first match. You'd better get practicing with your team. You might want to make sure Malfoy doesn't fall off his broom," joked Ron.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on falling off. You might want to be careful though. You never know what could happen," said a cold, familiar voice from behind them.

Ron stopped and turned to see none other than Draco Malfoy standing behind him on steps out of the castle. He was accompanied by Aurora Ketteridge. The two were holding hands and Aurora seemed to be rolling here eyes at her boyfriend.

"Hullo, Draco," Tracey yawned. She too was rolling her eyes at him. "Rora, how did your potion turn out?"

"It was maroon. Ghastly color, that. It's probably all wrong."

Ron had seen Aurora before but had never really paid her much attention. She always seemed to have her nose in a book. When she wasn't reading she was writing something.

Aurora pushed a strand of straight blonde hair out of her green eyes before continuing, "Draco's nearly turned pink before I realized he'd forgotten to stir it three times clockwise and two times counterclockwise."

"Thank you, Aurora, dear, for pointing out my mistake."

Draco was clearly pretending that Ron wasn't there.

"Listen, I hate to leave this cozy little party but I should probably be going. I have to put my books down before dinner," Ron muttered uncomfortably.

As Ron left Tracey looked after him. A bit of her wished that he would have stayed, that he wouldn't have gone. She wanted him to turn around and come back. Something inside wanted him to always be around.

"Hanging around with Weasley now, are we?" drawled Draco. "Tracey, I never took you as the type to go traipsing after blood traitors."

"What are you talking about Draco? He's my potions partner. That's all. We were just talking about quidditch."

"That's not what it looked like," Aurora replied rather more quietly than she would have liked.

Tracey had no idea what her best friend was going on about. How could something as simple as talking to Ron about quidditch be taken as something else? It didn't make sense to her.

"Draco, would you mind leaving us alone. We'll see you at dinner," asked Aurora.

He left, although he clearly didn't want to. Draco wasn't used to taking orders from anyone else, he was used to giving them.

"What's this you're going on about? Ron and I were just talking about the Slytherin-Gryffindor game next weekend."

"That's not what I was talking about."

"Then what were you talking about?"

"The way you two were looking at each other," she explained. "It was like you never wanted to stop looking at him. Then when he left you looked as though you'd died a bit inside."

"It was not and I did not," denied the brunette.

A part of Tracey knew that she was lying but didn't want to admit it. She barely knew Ron. She couldn't like him. It wasn't possible. It didn't make sense. Or maybe it did. Tracey couldn't tell anymore. Every time she thought of Potions her heart skipped a beat and she had to force it to keep going.

"_No_," she kept telling herself. "_I can't like him. I won't like him. I'll just be friends with him._"

Frankly, that course of action hadn't worked yet.


	3. Hallelujah

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter...But I don't. I own Tracey's personality and history but I didn't come up with her. That was JK Rowling. I own the plot as well and any OCs but that's it. **

**Chapter 3**

The next Saturday Gryffindor managed to crush the Slytherin team in their quidditch match against each other. By the end of the game Tracey was tired, hungry, and just a little bit happy, despite the loss. In the middle of the game, as Tracey passed the goalposts, she had started talking to Ron.

"Hey, Ron," she had shouted against the sound of the crowd cheering.

"Trying to distract me, Tracey?" Ron laughed, narrowly missing a throw from one of the Slytherin chasers.

Tracey had flown a few yards out to hit a bludger in the direction of Harry before coming back to answer Ron.

"Maybe a little bit. I want to win that bet, remember?"

"I do too," replied Ron as the quaffle once again came in his direction. He had stopped it skillfully and threw it to Ginny.

"Looks like you're going to. Look at Harry. Gotta go!"

Tracey had seen Harry going into a dive. He had obviously seen the snitch. She tried to hit a bludger in his direction but it hadn't even phased him. Two seconds later the Gryffindor supporters were pouring onto the pitch laughing and cheering at their victory. Quietly, and rather begrudgingly, the Slytherins had walked back to their locker room to change. Tracey hadn't gone with them. She had picked up her broom, placed it in the shed with the rest of them, and started walking back to the castle so that she could get Ron the money he had won from her.

Tracey was emerging from the dungeons, on her way to lunch, when she spotted Ron, Harry, and Hermione coming down the stairs. She ran to meet the group before they entered The Great Hall. If her housemates saw her giving a sack of Galleons to Ron they'd never leave her alone, she knew it.

"Ron!" Tracey called, trying to catch his attention.

He turned and smiled, whispering to Harry and Hermione to go on in without him.

"I told you we'd kick your arse."

Ron was clearly not trying to be humble. Tracey ignored it, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation.

"Alright, so you won. Here's your money. 10 galleons, just like I said," she handed him a bag of coins as she said this.

"You didn't have to."

"I did. We bet. I'm not going to back out on a bet. You won fair and square, no matter how many times I tried to knock Harry off of his broom or distract you by talking to you."

Ron looked at her, surprised that she had actually followed through. Noticing this he quickly attempted to change the expression on his face to one of mirth.

"So you admit to trying to cheat a little bit…"

"'Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their end,'" she quoted.

They both laughed at her use of the sorting hat's song, then Ron became oddly serious.

"You know, if you still wanted to tutor me I'd be up for it. I can't tell unicorn tail hair from boomslang skin."

"What's in it for me?" questioned Tracey.

"Uh…I hadn't thought about that. The joy of teaching me, I suppose."

"I was just joking. Of course I'm still up for tutoring you. Meet me in the library tomorrow right after lunch. We'll see if I can't get you to know bezoar from beetle eye in no time flat."

The next day Ron tried to eat lunch as fast as he could so that he could get as much study time with Tracey as possible. This behavior caused Hermione and Harry to look at him as though he was going on about seeing a real Crumple-Horned Snorkack or something. Usually it was Hermione who was cutting mealtimes short to rush off to read a book. Ron was the one who would rather eat half of the food at the Gryffindor table than pick up a textbook or study.

"Where are you going?" inquired Harry.

"'ibrary," Ron uttered through a mouth full of shepherd's pie.

He took a swig of his pumpkin juice before finishing his sentence.

"Tracey's going to help me get my Potions grade up. I need it."

"But that's what Hermione's for. Ouch!"

Hermione had hit Harry on the arm.

"Well it's true!" he continued.

She sighed and said, "Harry James Potter I am not your personal encyclopedia of magic. I think it's good that Ron is getting a tutor who isn't me. Maybe he'll actually listen to a word she says. Merlin knows he never listens to me."

"But she's a Slytherin," Harry cried as though being tutored by a Slytherin was the worse thing that could happen to a person.

"Listen guys, I'm late. I'll talk to you later in the common room," Ron said quickly before picking up his things and leaving.

"What's with him?" murmured Harry as Ron walked out the door.

Hermione shook her head at Harry and gave him a look that very clearly said, "You really are clueless, aren't you?"

"Okay, so what is a bezoar?" whispered Tracey, careful not to be too loud so the Madam Pince wouldn't kick them out of the library.

"A stone taken from the stomach of a goat that will work as an antidote for most poisons. Hey, can we take a break? We've been at this for hours."

It was true. Tracey had been asking Ron to identify and describe various potions ingredients for at least 4 hours. It was nearly dinner time. Ron looked exhausted.

"Sure. I wanted to go find a book for myself anyway. Flying with the Cannons to be precise."

The look of exhaustion was instantly wiped from Ron's face at the mention of a book about the Chudley Cannons, his favorite quidditch team. He smiled.

"Brilliant. I know exactly where that is. I've taken it out a few times. I'll help you find it."

Ron got up and Tracey followed him to the row of books labeled quidditch. After a few minutes of searching he found it at the top shelf of a bookcase and, using his height, pulled it down with ease. As he handed it to Tracey she whispered something so quietly that he almost didn't hear her.

"Thanks. Can I tell you something, Ron?"

"I guess so. What is it?"

He was curious what she had to say. Tracey blushed a light pink before she went on. This time her voice was so quiet that he had to ask her to say it again.

"What was that?"

"Ilikeyou," she muttered, her words running together.

"Huh?"

"Oh, bollocks. I. Like. You. Do I have to spell it out?"

Tracey's shyness had melted away after having to say it out loud a few times. Having to repeat herself only made her more determined to say it properly.

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you can say? Oh?"

"I like you too. A lot," Ron said, turning almost as red as his hair. You almost couldn't tell where the forehead ended and the hair began.

Without realizing what came over her Tracey leaned in, looked up at Ron, and kissed him. Ron felt as though a he had been shocked by something. There was a taste of fire on his lips, mingled with a sweetness that was something like honey. He kissed her back, drinking in the feeling of being kissed like tomorrow wasn't ever going to come. When they broke apart he longed for more.

"That was-"

"Horrible, I know. I can't kiss for my life. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," Tracey said as she turned to leave, embarrassed at what she had just done, wishing she hadn't said anything in the first place.

"I was going to say incredible," replied Ron, making her stop dead in her tracks and turn around, a look of astonished disbelief upon her face.

"You…liked it?"

"Liked it? I loved it. It was amazing. I…do you want to go to the Three Broomsticks with me next Hogsmeade trip? As…boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Tracey, realizing that Ron wasn't pulling her leg, smiled and laughed softly.

"Yes. I would love to. And I would love to be your girlfriend."

Ron's eyes widened.

"Really? Blimey… Wait. Does this mean that I have to put up with Malfoy now?

"You bet your broomstick it does. It also means I have to put up with Harry and Hermione, so I guess our 'suffering' is just about even, wouldn't you say?"

Ron nodded and they both laughed, attracting the attention of Madam Pince, who came around the corner and started scolding them for making noise, even though they were the only students in the library. Before they knew what was happening they were both kicked out of the library, Tracey still clutching Flying with the Cannons tightly in her hands.

The corridors were empty, except for the occasional ghost floating through a wall or door. Without exactly realizing what they were doing Ron and Tracey held hands all the way until they reached The Great Hall for dinner, where they had to separate, Tracey staying closest to the door at the Slytherin table and Ron moving farthest away to the Gryffindor table.

"So…you were holding hands with Weasel boy, were you?" sneered Pansy, clearly wanting to make any Slytherin who dared to interact nicely with a Gryffindor miserable. She obviously expected to have Tracey try and deny everything. What Pansy hadn't expected was for Tracey to stand up for Ron.

"Yes, I was. Do you have a problem with that? Oh, and he's not "Weasel boy." His name is Ron, but I'm sure you know that. You were just expecting to get under my skin, no doubt."

Pansy looked as though she had been hit by the tail of a dragon. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide, making her look even less attractive than usual. She was used to the other Slytherin girls, especially Tracey and the other half-bloods, paying attention to her every word, laughing at her cruel jokes, if not because they were funny but because Pansy was the girl who controlled who was "cool" in the Slytherin common room.

"I…yes…well…"Pansy stuttered, trying to get over the initial shock of how Tracey had spoken to her.

"Pansy, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go sit somewhere else, thanks," Tracey said, rather defiantly as she got up and moved to the other end of the table, next to Draco.

"What was that all about?" muttered Aurora as she turned to face them from the Ravenclaw table behind them.

"Uh…Well, I stood up to Pansy a little bit," Tracey replied looking down a little bit.

"So that's why she looks as though she's been hit with something," smirked Draco.

"Doesn't she always look like that?" Aurora joked.

All three students laughed heartily at Pansy's expense. It was not as though she didn't deserve it. There were hundreds of times when she had made fun of other people, especially people not of her house. She had even taken to making fun of Draco lately, although not to his face. Pansy always kept her insults about Draco to herself until late at night in the Slytherin 6th year girl's dormitory. That was when she would attack his choice of dating Aurora. She despised the fact that he wasn't dating her and that he had instead chosen to date a girl who was not of pure wizarding blood.

At first Pansy had begged him to date her once more. When he refused she had taken to insulting Aurora. Not even that had worked so she had decided that she was better suited to insult Draco behind his back. It was all a bit pathetic.

"Why did you have to stand up to Pansy, though?" Aurora asked after they had gotten control of their laughter.

"Aurora, didn't you see her walk in holding Weasley's hand? Obviously Pansy spotted them."

There was a loud clang as Aurora dropped her fork onto her golden plate.

"You were doing what?"

"Well, Ron and I were in the library earlier. And then I told him that I liked him…and then I kind of kissed him."

Clang. This time it was Draco who dropped a utensil.

"You kissed Weasley?" they said together in astonishment.

"Did he kiss you back?" Aurora asked.

When Tracey nodded she squealed loudly, attracting the attention of several of the other Ravenclaw students.

"Uh…how about we go somewhere else to discuss this? Like out onto the grounds. Everyone keeps looking at us. I don't like it."

The sun was setting as they got out onto the grounds, near the lake. The giant squid was sticking a few of it's tentacles up into the sky trying, it seemed, to catch a bird that was flying above it. A few seconds later the bird was gone and the giant squid was withdrawing it's tentacles from the surface of the cold lake.

"So what happened? Did he kiss you back?" Aurora again again.

Tracey blushed, giving Aurora her answer.

"Weasley kissed you." drawled Draco. He was looking around, trying not to sound too interested.

"And?"

"And what?" asked Tracey. Her friends were looking at her intently and she was getting a bit unnerved by it.

"What else happened?" pressed Aurora.

"He asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him…and to be his girlfriend. And before you ask, yes I said yes."

"I hope you know that even if you are dating him I don't plan on hanging out with him at all," Draco said carelessly.

"I don't expect you to. I just hope you'd stop making fun of him quite so much. Please try," she added, seeing the look on Draco's face that clearly said "Are you kidding me?"

"Fine. I'll try. But I can't promise anything."

Tracey hugged him, catching him off guard and nearly knocking him flat on his back.

"Thank you. And one more thing. Could you guys please not mention this to anyone?"

"Sure…"

"And that's what happened," finished Ron.

He had been telling Harry and Hermione exactly what had happened in the library that afternoon.

"That's unexpected," said Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"No it's not, you're just oblivious to when someone likes someone else."

"I'm not. I knew Cho liked me."

"Yeah, mate, after you kissed her."

"Whatever," Harry said as he shrugged it off. "You're dating a Slytherin. You can't tell me that's going to end well."

Ron looked at Harry angrily and then stalked off up the stairs to the boys dormitories. Harry was definitely not the person who should be warning Ron about relationships. Besides, the only reason he didn't like Tracey was because she was in Slytherin. He hadn't even met her properly yet.

Ron changed quickly into his pajamas and got into bed. He was going to sleep early, or at least pretending to go to sleep. Behind his closed bed hangings he heard the door open and Harry say his name. Ignoring the noise, he went back to staring at the ceiling as though he hadn't heard anything.


	4. I Won't Be Home For Christmas

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter...But I don't. I own Tracey's personality and history but I didn't come up with her. That was JK Rowling. I own the plot as well and any OCs but that's it. **

**Chapter 4**

**I Won't Be Home For Christmas**

The next Hogsmeade visit took place about 2 weeks before the end of fall term. Tracey met Ron in the entrance hall after breakfast that day. As they walked out into the cold, snow covered grounds Ron put his arm around Tracey's shoulder to warm her.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Ron asked her as they walked.

Tracey's face, which had been happy up until that moment, fell.

"No," she frowned. "Mummy and Daddy have decided that they'd like to go on a muggle cruise to the Caribbean. They told my brother and me that we would either have to stay at Hogwarts or with friends. I've already signed up to stay here, though. I'm sure I'll have fun. I mean, the castle will practically be deserted. We can do whatever we want, really."

Ron contemplated something for a few seconds before saying, "Why don't you stay with my family? I'm sure my mum would be glad to have you. Harry's staying with us and everything. It'll be fun. Plus I don't want you to have to stay here alone."

Tracey smiled at Ron's suggestion. She'd love to stay with him but there was one problem.

"Ron, I'd love that but I doubt Professor McGonagall would let me stay," she explained.

"Just talk to her. When we get back from The Three Broomsticks this afternoon I'll owl my mum using Pig and you can talk to McGonagall. Maybe if you just tell her you've changed your mind-"

"Okay, I'll try," she interrupted him, sensing that he wasn't going to stop until she said agreed to talk to Professor McGonagall. "But what am I supposed to tell her, exactly?"

"Tell her you're going to be staying at The Burrow with my family. She knows all of us. I want you to meet the rest of my family. So far the only one you've met is Ginny."

It was true. In the month that Ron and Tracey had been dating the only one of Ron's relatives that Tracey had met was his younger sister. This wasn't surprising though, seeing as none of the other Weasleys attended Hogwarts anymore. The closest Tracey had come to meeting any of the other Weasley children had been on the Hogwarts Express the summer before the previous school year when Fred and George had looked in to see if her compartment on the train was empty. Truth be told Tracey was extremely nervous about the prospect of meeting Ron's parents and siblings. She hadn't ever done the "meet the parents" thing.

More snow started to fall as Ron and Tracey reached The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Ron shivered slightly as he held the door open for Tracey to enter. Madam Rosmerta greeted them as they walked to the counter and ordered two butterbeers. Tracey spotted a table for two in the very back of the bar and pointed it out to Ron. When they had received their drinks they moved towards the table to sit down and talk.

"Aurora thinks that we should go on a double date," said Tracey, just to see the reaction that it got from Ron.

Almost immediately Ron looked like he was going to throw up.

"A double date? With Malfoy? There is no way. No bloody fucking way," Ron protested. "You aren't seriously thinking about it, are you? I refuse to go on a double date with Draco Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret."

Tracey started laughing hysterically. It took her about 5 minutes before she could stop and when she did she was out of breathe and her cheeks hurt.

"You…you called Draco the Amazing Bouncing Ferret…" Tracey started laughing again.

"Well he is," grinned Ron. "Remember when Moody turned him into a ferret and bounced him around the entrance hall?"

"How could I forget? Professor McGonagall got much angrier than I've ever seen her before. And I've seen her pretty mad."

Ron and Tracey continued to joke around and talk until they had finished their butterbeers. Then they braved the snow to go to Honeydukes for some chocolate. Tracey decided that she had better buy her Christmas gifts now, while she had the chance. While they were in Honeydukes she got Ron a huge box of Chocolate Frogs. Hopefully she could help him get closer to finishing his collection of Chocolate Frog cards. Aurora was getting a new set of eagle feather quills. Tracey then got Draco a new compass for his broomstick.

The walk back to the castle was nearly unbearable. During the 4 hours that they had been in Hogsmeade the snow had picked up considerably. Wind beat across the students faces as they trudged through what appeared to be about 8 inches of snow. A large, furry orange cat with a bottle brush tail crossed in front of Tracey and Ron as they got to the grounds. It stopped and started mewing at them before flicking its tail and scurrying away, back through the gate.

From the bottom of the large stone staircase leading into the castle Filch could be heard screaming about the desecration of his clean entrance hall.

"HOODLUMS! Students dripping and squishing all over my floors. Water everywhere. A mess. And who has to clean it up, my poppet? Me!"

Mrs. Norris was very clearly with him. Filch's cat followed him everywhere and alerted him to any wrongdoing going on in the castle. No doubt she had been the one to tell him that there were students bringing melting snow inside. To avoid Mr. Filch's wrath Tracey and Ron cleared as much of the snow off of their robes and cloaks as they could before entering the castle's large entrance hall.

Ron walked with Tracey as far as Professor McGonagall's office. He left her there so that she could ask about being taken off the list of students staying at Hogwarts during semester break. From there he proceeded to the owlery to send a note home. Seeing how much snow was swirling outside of the glassless windows of the tower made Ron wonder if Pig could make it home in this weather.

Pig fluttered down from a perch near the far end of the room and landed on Ron's shoulder. The little bird hooted incessantly until Ron finally yelled at him to shut up so that he could write his letter.

When he finished writing to Molly, explaining that he would like Tracey to stay for the holidays, he tied the note to the hyperactive owl's leg. Pig flew out the window, dropped a few feet and was buffeted back up by the wind. Shaking his head, Ron watched the owl fly out of sight and then went back to the Gryffindor common room to warm himself before the fire.

Professor Minerva McGonagall thought she heard a light knock on her office door. Looking up from the grading she was doing she called for whoever it was to come in. She was surprised when Tracey Davis opened the door looking slightly frightened and more than a little embarrassed.

"Ah, Ms. Davis, come in. What is it that I can do for you? I trust that you aren't having difficulty with the homework I assigned you this week."

"No, Professor, not at all. I actually came to ask you about something else."

A look of confusion spread across Professor McGonagall's face.

"Alright, what would you like to ask me about?"

"I know I signed up to stay here during Christmas holidays but I was wondering if I could be taken off that list."

"Your mother sent me a letter, you know, saying that she was going on vacation with your father and that you'd have to stay at the castle over break if you didn't find somewhere to stay. Have you found someone with whom you can stay?"

"Ron offered to let me stay with his family. He owling his mother right now to see if it's alright with her."

"Well, until Mrs. Weasley sends a letter back to Ron I'm afraid I can't take you off the list."

The bottom of Tracey's stomach dropped out.

"However," stated Professor McGonagall, seeing the look on Tracey's face, "I will take you off the list once Ron's mother has written back to him saying that it is all right for you to stay."

A smile flooded Tracey's face.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. I'll let you know what Mrs. Weasley says."

Tracey walked out of McGonagall's office with a slight skip in her step. She returned to the dungeons feeling much better than she had since she found out her parents were going away by themselves.

"Tracey!"

Ron rushed over to her after breakfast a few days later holding a piece of parchment in his hands. The sound of Ron's voice made her turn abruptly, almost knocking over a first year Hufflepuff who was leaving the Great Hall at the same time.

"Sorry," she called after him, as the small boy tottered under the weight of his books. "What's wrong, Ron?"

"Nothing, Mum just owled me back. She said she'd be thrilled if stayed with us for Christmas. Listen to this:

'Dear Ron, Your father and I would be delighted if Tracey stayed with us for the holidays. She can sleep in Ginny's room. Fred and George will meet you at King's Cross next Friday. Lots of love, Mum'

'P.S. Say hello to Harry and Hermione, and Ginny from us.' You can stay with us. Are you going to go talk to McGonagall again?"

"Ron, that's amazing. Of course I'm going to go tell her. I have Transfiguration right now. Do you mind if I borrow that to show her? I don't want her to think that I'm lying or something just to get out of the castle," Tracey said grinning widely.

Tracey, after thinking about it for a few days, decided that she was excited to have the chance to meet Ron's family.

"Sure, I'll see you later. I have to get going to Defense Against the Dark Arts," stated Ron as he handed her the letter, kissed her softly, and walked away up the marble staircase, waving.

Two seconds later Aurora emerged from the Great Hall with Draco. They had seen Ron jumping up from the Gryffindor table to call out to Tracey as she left. Both were surprised to find her still standing at the foot of the stairs.

"We thought you'd be at class by now," said Aurora. "What did Ron have to tell you? He looked excited."

"He looked as though he'd found a galleon lying on the ground…" muttered Draco.

Draco shut up as Tracey and Aurora simultaneously shot him icy stares as they walked up the stairs. He hung his head but then rolled his eyes as they turned back to face each other.

"We saw that!" they said in unison.

"So what did Ron have to tell you?" Aurora looked again.

"I'm going to be staying with his family during vacation," explained Tracey simply.

"Do tell me exactly what his house looks like, will you? I'm sure it's nothing you're used to. By the way, I don't understand why you couldn't just stay with me or Rora in the first place."

"Hush, Draco. Leave her alone. If she doesn't want to stay with one of us that's fine. I'm sure she'll have a great time, won't you, Trace?"

"Yeah," she nodded, still not quite sure exactly what she was getting herself into. All she knew was that, from what she had heard about Ron's siblings, this was going to be a rather interesting Christmas.


End file.
